


Wolverine

by celedan



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Another Solution to CoE, Established Relationship, Immortal Ianto? - Very likely, Insecurities, Jealousy, M/M, Major Character Death but not for long - and no it's not Jack, Sequel, viscious alien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 01:43:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celedan/pseuds/celedan
Summary: A few weeks after the events of "Visceral", the Doctor shows up to ask Torchwood for help. While Ianto is furious with Jack because he is jealous of the Doctor, the team goes looking for the Doctor's lost alien friend - And encounter a much more vicious enemy that proves fatal for Ianto.





	Wolverine

**Author's Note:**

> Sequel to my fic "Visceral" which should be read beforehand to understand what's happening here at the end.

Jack frowned down at the mangled body lying on the autopsy table below him.

“We have to find the killer,” Gwen said as she suddenly appeared next to him. He only made a thoughtful noise in answer. “Three victims so far, and who knows how many more before we can stop it.”

“And you really don't know which species this is?” Owen called up to them, interrupting his work on the body to look questioningly at Jack.

“No, I already told you. I've never met an alien that would inflict such wounds.”

“Provided it isn't some sort of weapon that's got nothing to do with the species of the killer,” Ianto threw in as well when he and Tosh joined the rest of the team. 

“Hmhm,” Jack made once more. 

“It's really clever,” Gwen sighed. “There's no trace of it after each kill.”

“But not cleverer than us,” Jack countered decidedly, crossing his arms before his chest. 

Before someone could give any reply to that, a sudden grinding noise made them all startle in alarm, and Jack perk up in sudden excitement.

In a split-second, he'd dashed away toward the noise. The others followed uncertainly, even if some of them at least had a hunch what that noise could mean.

And indeed, there in the middle of the Hub sat the TARDIS, Jack waiting before it eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and quivering like an excited puppy waiting for its master.

The door was thrown open with a flourish, and out marched the Doctor in an exuberant fashion.

“Hello Torchwood!” he grinned, but the only one who seemed to be happy to see him was of course Jack. The rest of the team was rather sceptical and/or clueless – Gwen, Owen, and Tosh –, or wary of the glaringly obvious familiar dynamics between Jack and the Doctor – Ianto. 

“Doctor! What can we do for you?” Jack couldn't seem to stay still in his excitement, or maybe in close proximity to the Doctor, he became as restless as the Time Lord, it was hard to tell.

“Weeell,” the Doctor drawled, “I have to admit I'm at a bit of a loss.”

Jack stared at him incredulous. “You?! That's hard to believe.”

“But entirely possible – unfortunately. You see, I've lost an alien I have been... hm, let's say pursuing. Old friend of mine. Well, when I say friend...” 

Jack crossed his arms before his chest, and chuckled at the Doctor. “You've lost it.”

“Hmhm. And he's very good at hiding from me.”

“Even from the TARDIS?”

“Afraid so.”

“Hm...” Jack frowned. “And you've followed him to Cardiff?”

“Yes, then I've lost his trace... again.”

Suddenly curious, Jack looked around the Doctor to the open TARDIS door. “You're alone at the moment?”

The Doctor smiled wistfully at him. “Yes,” he answered in a tone that indicated that he didn't want to talk about it further.

“Oh,” Jack realised. It couldn't be that long since... well, since Martha. At least for the Doctor. For Jack, it had been a few months already, thank God (even if the nightmares would still haunt him for a long time to come). 

A sudden clearing of the throat ended the uneasy silence between the two time travellers, and, realising they weren't alone, turned to the team.

They found themselves confronted with expectedly, slightly tetchy gazes, so Jack hurried to introduce each other.

“You are his Doctor?” Gwen clarified. “The one he up and left us for?”

The Doctor grinned sheepishly. “Apparently. Sorry for that.”

“Uh-huh,” Gwen made, and crossed her arms before her chest just as the others were doing, still not sure what to think of the famous Time Lord suddenly appearing in the Hub, disrupting their schedule as well as Jack's professional behaviour. 

“So what?” Ianto voiced what everyone thought, uncharacteristically adopting Gwen's usual role of being the bold one in this, “You want us to help you find this alien?”

“That would be great, yeah.”

“Why?”

The Doctor blinked. “Ehm, excuse me? Why what?”

“Why should we help you? Officially, you're still Torchwood's Number One Enemy, and because of you, we lost Jack for a long time, not sure if we would ever see him again. So, I ask you, why should we help you?” 

“Ianto!” Jack hissed angrily, but his archivist ignored him.

The Doctor looked long and hard at Ianto so that the young man was hard pressed not to squirm under this intense gaze, but he held fast. “Because I ask you,” he simply replied as if that would settle matters. “And because I promise you that I will come to your help if you ever need me.”

Ianto snorted. “I'd like to see that” And with that, he left the Doctor standing, and disappeared in the direction of the lower levels.

 

He didn't come far before Jack caught up with him, angrily grabbing his arm, and yanking him around to face his boss.

“What was that all about?!” Jack snapped. “I'd have expected Gwen to be rude if something doesn't sit well with her, but not you, no matter what you may think on the inside.”

Ianto glared at Jack, and pointedly looked at Jack's hand holding his biceps in a tight grip. Jack let him go.

“I think it was a justified question.”

“No, it wasn't. You have no right to behave towards the Doctor that way. He's my friend...”

Ianto snorted. “Yeah, great friend who leaves you stranded alone in the future. Wasn't that what happened? At least that's what you told me.”

Jack looked away uneasily. “Yeah, but...” His features hardened. “That's none of your business, but fact is, the Doctor saved Earth more than once. Or do I have to remind you of Canary Wharf!?”

Ianto flinched. “That's low, Jack, even for you,” Ianto spat. “For me, he saved nothing that day. I had to try and save her myself. But since our opinions seem to differ on that subject, I suggest you go back up and tend to our  _guest_ . Just leave me a note or something this time when you leave with him again.”

“You're jealous,” Jack suddenly realised, most of his anger draining out of him with that realisation. 

Ianto pressed his lips together bitterly, and looked away. “After ev'rything I've heard, that seems to be the norm for partners of the Doctor's companions.”

Jack's gaze softened, and he gently smiled at him. “Ianto... I belong with you.”

“Maybe in my bed,” Ianto answered coolly. “Admit it, Jack, if you could get the things you get from me from the Doctor, you would chose him over me every day. Hell, you even prefer him despite the sex.”

“I told you that I love you!”

“Doesn't change the fact that you still love him more, always will.”

Bristling, Ianto started to storm away, but Jack tried to hold him back once more. “Ianto...”

Ianto glared coldly at Jack. “I've got work to do, Sir.”

And with that, he ripped his arm from Jack's hold, and marched away.

 

“And what about Wolverine?” Owen asked some time later when most of them were gathered around the Hub's computers.

Jack shrugged, but before he could answer, the Doctor made a questioning sound to which Owen explained, “An alien that fell through the Rift. So far it left behind three bodies, all of them killed viciously through blades or claws, we're not sure there, but it always is one step ahead of us.” Owen shrugged himself. “I called it Wolverine, you know, like in the X-Men Comics.”

The Doctor frowned at the last statement, slightly confused, but seemed worried about the rest. “I'm not sure who this could be either. But I tell you something; I'll help you when you help me find my friend.”

Owen looked to Jack questioningly who nodded. “The Doctor is our best chance to find this being as fast as possible,” the Captain concurred.

The Doctor clapped his hands exuberantly. “Brilliant!” he grinned. “Then let's not lose any more time.”

 

The combined forces of the TARDIS and the Hub's computers at least tracked down the Doctor's alien to an abandoned office complex which was under construction – probably. Since they had no trail to Wolverine, no matter what they tried, they'd decided to deal with the other matter first.

“Okay, guys, we'll split up,” Jack announced once they were inside the building. 

“Very well, Sir, I'll take the top floors,” Ianto interrupted him before Jack could say anything further. And with that, he marched off in the direction of the staircase. 

An embarrassing, tense silence fell between the rest of the team, not even Owen contributing an inappropriate comment, and Jack sighed dejectedly, but not for one moment did he consider calling Ianto on his behaviour. Instead, he accepted that his partner wanted to be alone for the time being.

“All right,” he said, his voice sounding strained as he looked at his co-workers. “You three take the middle part of the building, Doctor, you and I will search the ground floors.”

The others nodded without complain, and turned towards the staircase as well. 

Sighing, Jack massaged his temples for a moment. “I shouldn't have let him go alone,” he muttered. “It's not safe.”

He looked up in surprise when he suddenly felt the Doctor's hand on his shoulder unexpectedly. The Time Lord smiled reassuringly at him. “Heads up, Captain. He's not in any danger. Unlike  your Wolverine – stupid name by the way – my friend isn't dangerous, only a bit grumpy at best as Sontarans tend to be.”

Jack nodded, and sighed once more. “All right. Then come on. Let's get this over with.”

 

Huffing, Ianto briskly climbed the staircase, but after a while, he ceased his huffing as well as his grumbling because he simply didn't have the breath for it any more.

_Should have take care to stay a little fitter_ , he thought testily.  _Obviously all the acrobatics with Jack weren't enough of a workout._

Together with his stamina, his anger towards Jack deflated gradually so that now he felt pretty foolish for behaving like a hysterical, jealous teenage girl. After all, Jack had finally told him that he loved him. And Ianto believed him.

But on the other side... He stopped marching along the fifth floor corridor, only looking half-heartedly for the Doctor's alien he had to admit guiltily. On the other side, he had been right; the Doctor ranked first in Jack's life, no matter what. He worshipped this man... being... although the Doctor had treated Jack pretty poorly in the past. The comparison made Ianto cringe, but Jack behaved like a dog who'd been constantly beaten by its master, but nevertheless goes back for the small scrapes of loving attention it still sometimes receives. So, no matter how much Jack might love Ianto, the Doctor would always be first.

But what did that mean for them?

Still half-heartedly, Ianto threw a look in an empty office, and then went on to the next, but still with his hand on his gun constantly. Better safe than sorry...

In the end, he only had two options. First, he could leave Jack if the Captain wasn't prepared to make Ianto his number one priority people wise (their work didn't count, it was the most important thing in all of their lives after all).

Ianto stopped in the middle of the corridor, and frowned.

No. This wasn't really an option at all. He would never be able to leave Jack, not willingly, and no matter what Owen had said a few weeks ago (the mood between them was still frosty; so, just like always, really), that their relationship wasn't healthy; if Ianto loved, he loved whole-heartedly and to the extremes, no compromises, and prepared to do everything (see the horrid issue with the Cyberwoman he'd foolishly believed to still be the woman he loved). And Ianto loved Jack more than anything, so that was that.

Therefore, he really had only one option left. He had to accept that from time to time Jack would drop ev'rything to chase after the Doctor if the Time Lord called. And even if this comforting thought left a slightly bitter after taste, Ianto should consider himself fortunate that it would be  _him_ Jack would come home to after such an adventure, not the Doctor. 

But he was used to being much too insignificant in the grand picture for being the most important thing in the life of a person like Jack Harkness after all. So, it had to be enough. He wouldn't get more, not if he went and tried to change Jack completely. And that wasn't what he wante d. He loved him for his free and exuberant and unpredictable and playful nature, not despite it.

He sighed heavily, but a  sudden noise made Ianto freeze in the middle of drawing breath. Had he misheard? No, surely not. Cautiously, he drew his weapon, his heart pounding like mad.

 

“We haven't found anything.”

Jack tapped his comms. “Okay, then come back down. We haven't found anything either.”

Gwen made an affirmative noise, and then ended the connection.

“Ianto?” Jack waited for Ianto to answer, but when the seconds ticked by without his lover answering his call, he started to become angry. It was one thing to be cross with Jack, but this was their job, and Ianto should behave accordingly. He could go over to ignoring Jack after they were back at the Hub.

He tried to call Ianto again when the others joined him and the Doctor, but there still was an eerie silence on the other end. Slowly, Jack started to get worried.

“That was a waste of time,” Owen complained when his team came back down to join them. “Can we get back to the Hub now?”

Jack nodded, and answered with a curt “yeah” while still trying to reach Ianto, becoming more frantic by the minute. “Ianto, that's not funny any more.”

“Doesn't he answer?” Gwen asked the Doctor softly who shook his head.

Jack sighed loudly, not even fooling himself that he wasn't worried, and tapped his comms briskly to cut the call. “I'll go up and get hi...”

The far away bang bang bang of shots suddenly echoed through the building, making everyone freeze.

“Ianto!” Jack breathed in terror, then he sprinted towards the staircase, the others close on his heels.

 

His lungs burning, but never stopping even for one second to catch his breath, Jack reached the fifth floor.

And came to a slithering stop when he almost tripped over a huge body lying lifeless at the foot of a staircase leading up to an open door to the fifth floor. He braced himself on the wall for balance, and stared at the dead creature lying at his feet, its chest full of bullet holes. One look at its hands confirmed that it had to be their elusive Wolverine: Long, blade-like claws protruded from its black-scaled fingers.

“Wolverine, I assume,” the Doctor commented gravely from behind Jack, being the only one who had been able to keep up with Jack's break-neck speed. 

But Jack didn't hear him for his terrified gaze was fixed on the sharp claws... which were dark and glistening with blood. His own blood run cold at the sight, and when he leaned more heavily on the wall for support for fear that his suddenly trembling knees wouldn't hold him up any more, his hand slipped a little on the hard concrete. He drew it back numbly, and with a sense of dread, he studied it. The light was dim in the staircase, only the emergency exit sign and a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling emanated some light, but even without sufficient lighting, Jack knew that the sticky mess on his palm was Ianto's blood. His terrified gaze was drawn to the spot on the wall where his hand had been, having left behind a hand-shaped bloody print, and he followed the splatters of blood up the wall. It led to the open door.

He didn't know how he found the strength to get his frozen limbs moving, but he frantically scrambled over the alien's corpse, and stumbled up the stairs. He almost slipped on the blood on the floor. “Ianto?!” he called timidly, his hypnotised gaze following this trail of blood as well. It almost looked like drag marks. Ianto must have fled up the stairs from the creature, already badly hurt given the amount of blood on the staircase wall, then shot the alien which had tumbled back down the stairs, and then he must have collapsed due to his injuries – it was amazing that he'd managed to get so far in the first place and still been able to fight back –, but still tried to crawl away from the alien, probably not sure if it was really dead. His gun lay on the floor in a pool of blood.

Jack didn't want to follow the trail. He didn't want to round the corner, and he didn't want to see what he would find then, but he didn't have a choice. His feet felt like lead, but nonetheless, his body betrayed him, and took him forward, one step at a time until after a few steps, he'd rounded the corner.

What he saw there made him even more dead inside than he had thought possible, and at the same time, he wanted to throw up. Only instinct made him move forward, falling to his knees beside Ianto's unmoving body, not caring that he knelt in a big pool of congealing blood. Carefully, because he was afraid to further hurt Ianto, he cradled his broken body in his arms, his frantic gaze flitting over Ianto's body to catalogue his injuries until he couldn't see them any more because his tears made his sight go blurry. But he'd seen enough. The horrid wounds seemed imprinted onto the insides of his eyelids whenever he closed his eyes, and he wouldn't forget them for a long time to come; the slashed up left arm, ripped open to the bone, the messily pierced right shoulder, the gaping wound in his abdomen... and the deep slash wounds across the whole right side of his beautiful, now deathly pale face...

Ianto's breath came in short, staccato-like wheezes while blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth. His eyes were open, but Jack wasn't sure how much he actually saw. Or how aware he was of his surroundings any more.

“I'm here, Ianto,” he whispered brokenly, hoping that his lover could understand him although the words were more for his own benefit than for Ianto. “It will be all right, you hear me. I have you now. Ev'rything will be all right...”

He heard Gwen's frantic “oh my God!” only as if through cotton wool as she and the others finally rounded the corner, skidding to a halt. He only barely registered Owen storming at his side, immediately starting to pull out a medical scanner and other equipment. In the background, he heard the familiar whirring of the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver as he probably took stock of Ianto's injuries. All the time, he held his desperate gaze fixed onto Ianto, not daring to miss even a second of the time his lover still breathed.

Eventually, he looked up at Owen when he noticed how still the doctor had become.

“Owen...”

But the young doctor shook his head, placing his medical equipment aside. “I'm sorry, Jack,” he said gently. “It's too late. I've given him very strong pain medication, but I think his body's too much in shock already to feel much anyway. That's the only thing I can still do for him.”

Jack needed a moment to comprehend what Owen meant with this, then his incredulous gaze swivelled to the Time Lord who, together with the others, stood a few feet away to give Owen space to work in the narrow corridor.

“Doctor! Do something. Please!” Frantically, he looked pleadingly at the Doctor through tearful eyes.

“I... I can't,” the Time Lord said softly. “I'm sorry.”

“No!” he cried desperately, his terrified anger almost overwhelming him. “You have to save him. Call the TARDIS. There has to be something in her infirmary that can...”

“No, Jack.” 

The Doctor's words were like a blow to the gut. “You owe me this,” he choked out. “No matter what, you at least owe this to me. To save Ianto.”

“Please believe me that I would if I had the means. I'm so, so sorry, Jack.”

Disbelieving, he stared at the Time Lord, then at Owen once more who shook his head sadly again. “I can give him an adrenaline shot if you want,” he offered softly. “That should rouse him enough so that you can say your goodbyes.”

Jack didn't fight the tears any more so that they streamed down his cheeks unhindered while he stared beseechingly, disbelievingly at Owen, but the doctor's uncharacteristically compassionate gaze told him everything he needed to know more than any words ever could.

His lips trembling, he nodded briskly, not daring to speak.

Owen returned his nod, and pulled forth a syringe, filling it with clear fluid, which he then injected into Ianto's thigh.

Only a few seconds later, the younger man coughed, and drew in a deep breath. Everyone cringed at the gurgling sound that came out of his throat together with more blood. But at least, he was coherent now, looking up at Jack in initial confusion.

“Jack?” he rasped weakly, and the Captain smiled down at him, pulling himself together for Ianto's sake.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Cold.”

Jack carefully hugged him tighter. “That's all right. I will warm you. You'll see, you're warm again in no time.”

Ianto managed a choked laugh. “Your body... 's not that hot...”

“Yes, it is,” Jack returned the banter, wanting to do everything in his power to distract at least Ianto from... from the things to come. 

But once again, Ianto knew him too well. He must have grasped the seriousness of his condition by simply looking into Jack's sorrow-filled eyes. A sudden calm permeated his own glassy eyes, and he let himself sink back into Jack's arms as if having found his peace at last. “I love you, Jack,” he rasped, and hearing this, Jack let out a choked sob.

“Please don't leave me,” he begged through his tears. “I love you, too.”

“I-it's all right...”

Jack shook his head vehemently. “No. It's not.”

“You'll find someone... one day...” Ianto coughed weakly, his strength waning by the second. “You mustn't be alone, but... p-promise me... that... that you won't forget me. At least... for a while...”

“Don't be daft, I'll _never_ forget you!”

Ianto smiled, and closed his eyes. “You will. Bu' that's al'right. T-thanks for trying though...”

His breath became shallower and shallower until, eventually, his breathing stopped all together. It was silent in the gloomy corridor until a broken sob coming from Jack ripped through the silence. Weeping bitterly, he drew Ianto nearer, and buried his face in Ianto's neck. Tosh and Gwen clung tightly to each other while they cried silently, and Owen just sat there beside Ianto's lifeless body, staring numbly, inwardly shaken by guilt that he once again hadn't managed to save somebody who... well, who was important to him. The Doctor stood silently, and looked down on Jack sadly, mourning the lost life, and that once again his friend had to suffer.

For a long time,  eerie silence lay over the mourning team until suddenly...

“ Oh shit!” Gwen's cry made them all snap their heads up, and Owen immediately scrambled away when he saw what happened before he caught himself, and rushed back to Ianto's side even if he couldn't do anything at the moment save gape in shock.

Not daring to breath, Jack held his lover's body in his arms, and stared down at him shell-shocked. He watched as slowly, the horrid wounds Ianto had suffered started to knit together again, leaving behind only unmarred, pale flesh. A sudden jolt went through Ianto's body, and he reared up in Jack's arms, heaving in a lungful of breath similar to Jack's own resurrections.

Not thinking at the moment, only acting, Jack tightened his arms around Ianto to keep him still and ground him, much like Ianto always did when Jack had died again so that he didn't have to wake up too disorientated and alone. 

But suddenly, Jack froze when he spied a fleeting golden gleam in Ianto's eyes as well as the sharp canines in his mouth while he still gulped for breath. And then he remembered his impromptu turn into a vampire a few weeks ago the others had told him about... He'd been there, in Ianto's flat. But Ianto had never told him what had happened. Now he had an inkling as to what had happened, at least some of it; he must have bitten Ianto and infected him, turning him into...

Gingerly, Ianto sat up, and blinked in confusion. “What...” But he stopped as he seemed to recall what had happened. Even in the dim light, the others could see how all colour suddenly drained from him. “I died,” he breathed in astonishment.

“ Yeah, and I'd really like to know how you managed this.” The Doctor cocked an amused eyebrow.

But Ianto didn't pay him any attention. He didn't even react to Gwen's incredulous “he bit you when he was in your flat, didn't he!”, all of his attention was focused on Jack who wouldn't look at him. 

“ Jack?” he asked after a while, a desperate note creeping into his voice. But the Captain still didn't want to look at him. Instead, he scrambled to his feet, and only now looked down on Ianto. 

Ianto gasped as he saw the hurt and betrayed expression in Jack's eyes.

“ Why didn't you tell me?!”

He averted his eyes in shame. “I...” But he didn't get any further for Jack made a disgusted noise, and stormed away down the corridor. 

Hurriedly, Ianto scrambled up, now completely all right again, and went after Jack.

“ Come on, guys,” Gwen said when the two men were out of sight. “Let's get this body down there out of here.”

 

Jack hadn't gone far, just around the next corner, where he stood looking out of the glassless window out into the night, his arms crossed tightly before his chest, his whole body rigid as a bow string.

Ianto came closer with trepidation until he finally stopped directly behind Jack.

“ Why didn't you tell me?” Jack asked again in a clipped voice. “Where you ever gonna tell me, or did you just wait for an opportunity just like this,” he spat. “Congrats, you dying before my eyes relieved you of having to tell me.”

Ianto sighed sadly and in shame. “I didn't know,” he whispered.

Jack grit his teeth, and spun around to him in agitation, looking at him with wild eyes. “”What? That I had bitten you?”

“ No... yes...” Ianto started to fidget awkwardly. “I didn't want to tell you what really happened when you were... well...”

“ We slept together, right?” Jack suddenly changed topic slightly.

Ianto nodded.

“ God, Ianto. You should have told me this!”

Ianto's gaze snapped up, suddenly defiant. “Why!? You didn't hurt me or anything, and you were worried enough afterwards that you'd just been in my flat. I didn't want you worrying further if I had told you that we had sex while you were like this.”

“ I forced you!”

Shocked, Ianto froze for a moment, gaping at Jack. “Of course you didn't!” he finally cried astonished. “It was my choice.”

Jack laughed humourlessly. “I don't think so. Either give in, or I surely would've hurt you after all.”

“ No,” Ianto stated firmly. “You weren't as unpredictable as you may think. At least not for me. I wanted it, you stupid git, deal with it.”

Jack grit his teeth in frustration while pondering Ianto's words, but eventually seemed to actually accept them. “But that still didn't give you the right to hide from me the little fact that you're immortal now,” he cried again agitated.

Ianto sighed in exasperation. “I didn't know! Sure, I suspected when the bite suddenly healed incredibly fast, but I didn't dare to... to hope that I might be close to immortal now. I'm still not sure what I am.”

“ You  _ hoped _ to be immortal?!” 

“ Well, yes, you idiot,” he bristled. “Someone has to look after you.”

Jack swallowed heavily while blinking at Ianto, fighting tears with all his might. Then he bridged the distance between them, and grabbed Ianto's shoulders beseechingly. “Ianto, I wouldn't wish my immortality on my worst enemy, let alone you! Do you have any idea what it's like!?”

“ Yes, you've told me. And the things you didn't tell me, I gathered from reading between the lines. I'm not stupid, Jack, I know how hard it is for you, always staying alone, but now you don't have to be any more... If... if you want me that is.”

Jack couldn't hold back any more, he hugged Ianto impulsively. The younger man relaxed in Jack's arms, relieved. “Of course I want you, silly. I just... God, I thought I had lost you! Please, please promise me that you won't put yourself needlessly in danger, no matter how invulnerable you may seem. One day you may... Please, promise me.”

Ianto had to admit, he was a little thrown about how strongly Jack had been affected by his alleged death, but nonetheless, it made him feel warm inside to be shown once more how important he was to the other man. “I promise,” he whispered, and brought his arms around Jack in turn. Jack sagged a little more in Ianto's embrace, a relieved sigh tickling Ianto's neck.

“ Oi, immortal lovebirds, get your asses back down here, I'm freezing!”

Owen's charming voice in their ears broke the strange mood between them, and they parted from each other, both chuckling a little embarrassed. 

“ Stop whining, skinny,” Jack retorted good-naturedly after tapping his comms. “You're almost as back as the Welsh.” He ignored the spluttered, affronted “hey!” coming from Ianto as well from Gwen over the comms. 

“ Yeah, yeah. Now come on. The Doctor's quite jittery already to examine you, Wolverine.”

“ I bet not only the Doctor,” Jack chuckled while Ianto moaned.

“ Great. I'll never get rid of this nickname again.”

“ That's his way of showing he cares,” Jack grinned while he impulsively reached for Ianto's hand. The other man returned the firm pressure of Jack's fingers gladly. “And look at it that way; he could have called you Dracula.”

Ianto hit him playfully on the shoulder. “Be quiet, you. Don't give him ideas.”

Jack became serious once more, and looked earnestly at Ianto. “Let's go home, yeah?”

Ianto smiled at him, and nodded. “Yeah. It's been a long night.”

Together, their hands still tightly clasped together, they started to make their way down to join the others.

“ By the way. Do you still eat, or is your diet slightly limited to red fluids now?”

Ianto moaned in exasperation at the curious and suspiciously cheeky tone in Jack's voice. No doubt, the Captain would manage to even find a sexual kink in  _ that _ .

“ Shut up, Jack.”

“ What! It's a justified question.”

“ No.”

“ But...”

“ No.”

** End **

 

 


End file.
